WNYT.com

Local activist visits the president ahead of inauguration

ALBANY -- The was there in person four years ago when President Obama was inaugurated.

"As you know it was the first time we had an African American president so. The hype was unbelievable," Dr. Alice Green said.

But the second time fells more personal even though she stayed home and watched it on television.

"Last week on Monday, I got an unexpected invitation to appear at the White House with the president, Mrs. Obama."

She cleared her schedule. On Thursday, Green got the opportunity to spend two and half hours in the White House. She was able to wonder around and take part in a small reception of about 80 people. And for a brief moment, she had the ear of the most powerful person on earth.

"You try to find something that you have in common. So I told him that I was a community organizer who does work in the community," Green said.

She also offered the first lady a special membership in her African American Cultural Center in Albany.

"She said yes I would love to. She wants me to send her a membership card and materials," Green added.

She snapped a few pictures. But it was prohibited to take photos of the president with a personal camera. Official White House photos of her and the Commander in Chief are on the way. But she took plenty with Vice President Joe Biden.

"We spent a lot of time with VP Joe Biden who is extremely friendly and likes to talk," she said.

That experience just days before the presidential inauguration on Martin Luther King Junior Day is something Green says will stay with her forever.

"All these things are very much tied together for me because were celebrating some major events that are very much connected," Green said.